Formula One - Canadian GP Race Report

Monday, June 11, 2012 - 15:30

ROMAIN: P2; KIMI: P8

Lotus was back on the podium in Montreal after Romain Grosjean clinched the best result of his F1 career so far with second place. Starting seventh on the grid on used super-soft tyres, he switched to new softs on Lap 21. When the leading cars of Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel, who were also one-stopping, struggled on old rubber in the final ten laps, two-stopping Lewis Hamilton was able to charge through and win. Romain was not far behind though after a spell of brilliant tyre management, passing Alonso for P2 on Lap 66 of 70.

Team-mate Kimi Räikkönen had suffered hydraulic issues in qualifying and started a disappointing 12th. He started on new softs and switched to new super-softs on Lap 40. He crossed the line in P8, earning four points and bringing the team’s race tally to 22. Lotus now sits third in the constructors’ championship, ahead of Ferrari.

Romain Grosjean : “It wasn’t easy at the start because there was lots of traffic and I didn’t know whether the others were stopping once or twice. I didn’t really understand what was going on, but I knew we had good pace. It was crazy at the end because I was thinking P5 or P4, but the pace stayed there and the team did a fantastic job with the car, which was good on tyres. We knew with the heat we would be better today. It is fantastic to be on my second podium this season. I dedicate this result to my friend Guillaume Moreau, who had a crash at the Le Mans test day last week. I wish him a good recovery.”

Kimi Räikkönen : “The car was a bit better in the race than it was in qualifying. I seemed to get stuck behind people a few times. We had a chance to do a bit better, but it didn’t quite all come together today. We scored points again so that’s always a good thing, especially this season. Qualifying yesterday wasn’t perfect so obviously that left us with more work to do. If you start further forward it’s easier to finish higher up the order. We’ll try to achieve that in the next race.”